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King David understood the power of a bursting flood when God swept away his enemies. How did he achieve this phenomenal breakthrough? What secrets can we learn from him?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n We can learn much from the life of King David because he was a man after God\u2019s own heart. This story is about how King David achieved a massive breakthrough over his enemies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Long ago, the Philistines confronted David just after his coronation (2 Samuel 5:17-25<\/strong>). When the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over Israel, they deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. So David inquired of the Lord: \u201cShall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n And God said to David, \u201cGo up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, \u201cThe Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a\u00a0breakthrough<\/strong>\u00a0of water.\u201d Therefore he called the name of that place\u00a0Baal Perazim<\/strong>\u00a0(which means “the Lord who bursts through<\/strong>“).<\/span><\/p>\n Once again, the Philistines deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. David inquired of the Lord but this time God said, \u201cYou shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.\u201d When David followed God\u2019s commands, he defeated his enemies once again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n King David understood the power of a\u00a0bursting flood<\/strong>\u00a0when God swept away his enemies. He achieved a phenomenal\u00a0breakthrough<\/strong>\u00a0at Baal perazim where he defeated his enemies..\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n David was successful in his military exploits because:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n After his initial victory at Baalperazim, the Philistines returned and confronted him again. Lesser mortals would have rested on their laurels, overconfident in light of earlier victory. \u201cNo sweat; let\u2019s go and defeat them.\u201d But David was different. He\u00a0enquired<\/strong>\u00a0of the Lord\u00a0again<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n This time, God told him\u00a0not\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>to go up and face his enemies.\u00a0\u201cYou shall\u00a0not<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees\u201d (2 Samuel 5:23<\/strong>).<\/span><\/p>\n David was told to advance only at the\u00a0appropriate moment<\/strong>\u00a0as God would fight for him. \u201cIt shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall act promptly, for then the LORD will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines\u201d\u00a0(2 Samuel 5:24<\/strong>).<\/span><\/p>\n Described as a \u2018man after God\u2019s own heart\u2019, David\u00a0frequently\u00a0<\/strong>sought God for counsel and direction. He had this inclination to\u00a0enquire of the Lord<\/strong>\u00a0whenever he had an important decision to make. This\u00a0distinctive<\/strong>\u00a0characteristic sets him apart from the other heroes of faith in the Old Testament.<\/span><\/p>\n David had one consuming desire. He wanted to continually dwell in God\u2019s presence and gaze upon God\u2019s beauty. His deep\u00a0\u00a0with God underpinned many of his actions and exploits.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cOne thing have I asked of the\u00a0Lord,<\/span> (Psalm 27:4<\/strong>)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Though he was king, he\u00a0knew<\/strong>\u00a0the One who was responsible for his success.\u00a0\u201c<\/sup><\/strong>And David knew that the\u00a0Lord\u00a0had established him king over Israel\u201d (2 Samuel 5:12a<\/strong>). He did not depend on his might, riches or wisdom, knowing deep down it was God who had raised him from obscurity\u2014from shepherd boy to royalty.<\/span><\/p>\n As a shepherd boy, he knew that God was the One who delivered him from the lion and the bear who preyed on his sheep (1 Samuel 17:37<\/strong>).<\/span><\/p>\n Later, through a self-esteem built over the years by\u00a0intimacy\u00a0<\/strong>with God, he was unafraid to confront Goliath using just a sling and a few stones\u00a0(1 Samuel 17: 45<\/strong>).<\/span><\/p>\n It was this same\u00a0humility<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0dependence<\/strong>\u00a0upon God\u2014whether he was a shepherd boy or king\u2014which led David to seek God as to how he should confront his enemies who were preparing to attack just after his coronation as king.<\/span><\/p>\n How did David enquire of the Lord? He could have sought God\u2019s face and prayed and\/or consulted the priests who sought for divine guidance using the Urim and Thummim.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n What can we learn from King David?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Just as David did not rely on his own wisdom or strength, we should seek God through\u00a0prayer<\/strong>and studying the\u00a0Word<\/strong>\u00a0and allow the\u00a0Holy Spirit<\/strong>\u00a0to show us the path that He would have us take.<\/span><\/p>\n We should cherish times of spiritual\u00a0\u00a0with God for it is through such times that we get a sense of his counsel and will. We should never take things into our own hands and move ahead before God\u2019s timing. At times, the answer may not be clear and that\u2019s when we need to wait.<\/span><\/p>\n At the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus sought the will of God the Father\u2014whether there was another way, apart from dying at the cross, by which man could be redeemed<\/span><\/p>\n Moses also sought God before leading the Israelites into the Promised Land.\u00a0He cherished\u00a0God\u2019s\u00a0presence<\/strong>\u00a0with him\u2014more than\u00a0blessings\u2014in all his endeavours. If God\u2019s presence did not go with him, he would not think of possessing the land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 33:15<\/strong>).<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n REFERENCES<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Dependence on God for guidance and wisdom<\/strong><\/span> Thus says the\u00a0Lord:\u00a0\u201cLet not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,\u00a0but\u00a0let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the\u00a0Lord\u00a0who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth.\u00a0For in these things I delight, declares the\u00a0Lord\u201d\u00a0<\/span>(Jeremiah 9:23-24<\/strong>).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Trust in the\u00a0Lord\u00a0with all your heart,<\/span> (Proverbs 3:5-6<\/strong>)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n You bless all who depend<\/span> (Psalm 84:5<\/strong>)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but\u00a0you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success\u00a0<\/span>(Joshua 1:8<\/strong>).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n For all who are\u00a0led by the Spirit of God are\u00a0sons\u00a0of God\u00a0<\/span>(Romans 8:14<\/strong>).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Note<\/strong>: Dr Lim Poh Ann is a medical practitioner. He was the former editor of Asian Beacon magazine (Dec 2008 \u2013 Oct 2011).\u00a0He can be reached at his\u00a0Facebook page<\/b>,\u00a0www.facebook.com\/AskDrLi <\/p>\n SOURCE OF ARTICLE:<\/strong>\u00a0http:\/\/limpohann.blogspot.my\/2013\/10\/keys-to-spiritual-breakthrough.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n |Share The Good News|<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Dr Lim Poh Ann<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lessons we can glean from David\u2019s military successes King David understood the power of a bursting flood when God swept away his enemies. How did he achieve this phenomenal breakthrough? What secrets can we […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":16706,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[7730,5372,4255,1323,10657],"class_list":{"0":"post-61241","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-inspirational","8":"tag-breakthrough","9":"tag-dr-lim-poh-ann","10":"tag-faith-and-trust-in-god","11":"tag-king-david","12":"tag-obedience-to-gods-way"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61241"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64462,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61241\/revisions\/64462"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/How-to-Achieve-Breakthrough.jpg\")
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\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0that will I seek after:<\/span>
\nthat I may\u00a0dwell in the house of the\u00a0Lord<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0all the days of my life,<\/span>
\nto\u00a0gaze upon\u00a0the beauty of the\u00a0Lord<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and to inquire\u00a0in his temple.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.esotericmeanings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/david-and-goliath-cut-off-his-head.jpg\")
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\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n
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\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and\u00a0do not lean on your own understanding.<\/span>
\nIn all your ways\u00a0acknowledge him,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and he\u00a0will make straight your paths.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0on you for their strength<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and all who deeply desire<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0to visit your temple.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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